How do you motivate yourself to write?

Ugh, it’s tough to motivate yourself to write some of the time (or all of the time).  Even if you love writing, life often has a way of keeping you from your latest script (or blog post…I’ve procrastinated this week…can you tell?). 

When you’re a pro who has been hired for a job it seems so simple: You get paid to write, you have a deadline to meet, you don’t meet, you don’t get paid, the end.  When you’re a baby writer you probably have another 9-5 job that pays the bills (or 9-9…or 9-11).  When you get done at the end of your day you're tired, annoyed, maybe you have a family waiting for you (or perhaps a long suffering pet or significant other) and episodes of Idol languishing on your DVR.  And yet, you have to somehow summon the childlike enthusiasm of Anne Hathaway and say …”HOORAY! It’s time to work on my script!”  When you’re a baby writer you write for YOU and the crazy dream that someday it’s gonna be YOUR name being called on the Oscars and you’ll be the one who gets to thank Scott Rudin and tell Aaron Sorkin’s daughter she ought to show you more respect.

Anyway, yeah, sometimes it’s hard to motivate yourself when your work is so…open ended, and no one is waiting for you to finish.  So how does a baby writer get motivated to write?  I’ve gotta say, I think the best way to motivate yourself is CONTESTS.

The winning moment.

Sounds like a cop out, I know, since I’ve talked a lot about fellowships/writing programs/contests before, but I actually know several baby writers who have spoken about lacking motivation and when I mention several popular contests they haven’t heard of them.  Contests give you that deadline I think most humans need so they can see the endgame for their work.  “I’m writing this script to submit to the Nicholl this year” versus “I’m writing this script to sit in the hard drive next to my computer until an agent/manager eventually asks for it.”  See what I mean?

Anyway, yeah, contests...check out links to some good ones under CONTESTS AND STUFF and get excited because deadlines are starting to come up!